T-Birds close out regular season with win over Wellington

The Thunderbirds finished the regular season on a high note moving to 10-10 with their 63-55 defeat of the Wellington Crusaders Thursday night.

Circle earned an early lead over Wellington after the opening eight minutes at 13-11.

The Thunderbirds again outscored the Crusaders in the second quarter pouring in 15 points but Wellington kept pace scoring 14 points of their own and stayed within a possession at 28-25.

Both squads battled in the third quarter but the Thunderbirds doubled their lead in the frame outscoring Wellington 19-16 to take a 47-41 lead over the Iron Dukes into the fourth quarter.

Again Wellington could not get over the hump on Circle in the final eight minutes of the game and the Thunderbirds held the Crusaders to 14 points and meanwhile scored 16 points of their own to claim the win.

The T-Birds were led by Dylan Driver who scored 22 points that included three 3-pointers and going 1-2 from the line. Paul Richard scored 12 points that included a 3-pointer and going 3-3 from the charity stripe. Brendon Horyna added eight points that included a 3-pointer and going 1-1 from the line. Jake Smith scored five points.

Braden Kirkpatrick, Kaden Fowler and Garrett Cannon each scored four points a piece. Justin Wright and Cal Hartley each had two points in the win.